Dawn 'til Dusk; a success story!

Last September I found myself in Vegas with Tony and Danny for the trade show.  Wandering along the strip with bottles of Crown in Coke in hand, we stopped at the big crazy fountain show in front of Caesars palace, which is impressive no matter how many times I see it. 
I'm standing there, thinking about the how incredibly powerful the water jets must be, that there must be a crazy maze of pipes and pumps and compressors underneath the pool.  Danny, I believe, was thinking about how hungry he was, and how a whole bunch of Crown and Coke on an empty stomach may be a bad idea.
Tony then let us know what he was thinking... that he wanted a house with a pool the size of the one in front of Caesars, so he could ride jet ski's in it.

The point of my story is when Tony goes for it, he goes big.  So for his first ever XC race, naturally he decided that soloing a 12 hour race on his singlespeed would be a good choice.
Well I've received some text message updates that things at the race have gone very well.  The weather was very warm and calm, a relief to all who attended last year.  Bikeworks had what is likely our biggest showing of racers at an event so far.  Tony completed 5 laps, I am told, and Danny's Duo team with Guy Tan finished in 7th place, I'm guessing with 8 or 9 laps.  We also had Scott Spangler, Alex Leonard, Paul Trotman, William Lujan, and Donovan Womack all racing in Bikeworks jerseys, representing!

I haven't heard any more than that, but I am sure there are some worthy details and stories that I will be filled in on in the days to come, which I will share with the world if they include anything painful, embarrassing, or painfully embarrassing.

We were proud to be the main bike shop sponsor again this year for the race.  For our part, we donated over $600 worth of schwag, and also orchestrated the donation by National Distributing of a sweet New Belguim "Ranger IPA" cruiser, to be awarded to the winner of the Karaoke contest.  I know how badly Tony wants that cruiser, but is it enough to get him singing his little heart out?

I've been told that thank you's are in order for all the friends and family of the Bikeworks racers who were in attendance, providing hearty cheering and support.  As Tony reported, they all "killed it". 

In return for my incredibly responsible-ness of staying behind and dutifully operating our business while my partners raced, I requested some pictures when they returned, and nothing else.  So hopefully I'll have some pics to share soon.  And if not, that's it, I'm walking out, quitting forever.  Maybe Performance could use a new mechanic....

In other news,  I rode Cedro yesterday morning, and it was 99% dry and completely ride-able.  I suggest getting out there ASAP and remembering that there is more to mountain biking that the Foothills. It has been a long winter.
I have also been told that Otero is starting to look pretty good, but there are still plenty of muddy areas.  Guesses of 2 more weeks have been thrown out there, which sounds good enough to me.  Anybody know otherwise about Otero?

Thanks for reading
- Lucero

Trail Conditions Report: North Foothills

I got out on Sunday for a solid 3+ hours of singlespeed hammering with Marc and Scott.  We started about 8:30, went for an "extended" North loop, and then headed to the South foothills for another very long loop.  Managed to get to the Tram tower and down to I-40 in one ride, on the singlespeed.  Hopefully I can get a couple more rides in like that before Old Pueblo, and find some kind of fitness good enough to see me through 'til the end of the race.

I was a little upset about the conditions of the North foothills though.  I was surprised at how much moisture there was on the trail, considering it hadn't rained or snowed in quite some time. Nevertheless, by 10am, the trail was thawed, and definitely heading towards muddy.

In several places the trail had become seriously rutted out by countless mountain bikers slogging through the mud over the past few weeks.  In some spots the ruts were seriously deep, and the trail just looked destroyed.  I was just a little surprised and dismayed at the fact that so many of our Mtb. brethren are willing to completely ignore the damage they are doing to a trail while riding it during muddy conditions.  It's not as if the North foothills are the only possible option right now, South foothills are always less muddy than the north, Placitas is in fine condition, and of course there is White and Red Mesa (if you have the time).

It really  strikes me as irresponsible to go out and trudge through the deep mud, leaving serious scars on the trail, just because it Wednesday night, and every Wednesday you and your buddies right in the North foothills.  I can only imagine that any trail users who are not on bikes see us bikers as extremely destructive right now, and I can't blame them, the trails look destroyed, and it's clearly because of bikes. 

So, my recommendation (especially considering last nights precipitation) is to give the North Foothills a break for a little while.  If you really want to ride there, try to get out early enough so that the trail is still frozen solid, and that way you won't make any new ruts.  South Foothills is always noticeably drier than the North, and as I mentioned earlier, Placitas seems to be drying out more quickly as well.

That's my little rant for the day.  If you want to hear me complain about anything else,  just give the shop a ring or stop by, I'm sure to be bitchy about something at the moment.  Grumble grumble frizzle frazzle robble robble mumble mumble.

Trail Conditions Report: White Mesa

Just wanted to let everybody know, White Mesa is rather snowy right now, but still perfectly ride-able.

Went out there today with a couple of friends. There were snow bluffs pretty consistently, usually a couple inches deep, but we could ride through almost all of them, and it was plenty cold enough to be just snow, no mud.  It was a fun added element to the ride, not wrecking in the snow.

So, if you are looking for a ride for the weekend, head on out. It's a classic winter mtb route.

Trail Conditions Report: Placitas

Just rode out in Placitas today with Charlie.
The trails are primarily covered in snow, but it's dry and grippy snow, and completely ride-able.
It was a fantastic ride.  I finally took out the Salsa Big Mama demo bike.  First impressions were very positive.

Unless it warms up a whole bunch, Placitas should remain good for a while.